Amidst serious concerns about the integrity of elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the resulting potential for electoral violence, the Kofi Annan Foundation and local partners implemented a series of activities to build confidence in the elections and avert a worst-case scenario.
The Challenge
Confidence in the DRC’s electoral institutions and processes has remained low since the country’s return to multi-party democracy in 2006. The preparations for the 2023 vote did little to restore confidence, leading many to fear the process was being manipulated to ensure a victory for the incumbent. A contested election could trigger a political crisis, and could have exacerbated violence across the country.
“It is transparent and accountable institutions, not ‘strong men’ or strong leaders, that safeguard democracy and create the conditions for peace and prosperity.”
Kofi Annan
About the Elections in the DRC project
The Kofi Annan Foundation joined forces with the Catholic and Protestant churches, as well as prominent local NGOs in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), to help unite civil society around a set of consensual confidence-building measures to be implemented before the elections. Building consensus around this basic roadmap amongst CSOs, political parties, and the international community could compel the government to accept the preconditions for a fair and credible electoral process. The Foundation convened discussions amongst opposition political parties to encourage them to adopt a shared programme of reform based on the platform developed by civil society, and collaborate to create genuine competition at the polls.
“Credible elections have to meet three essential criteria: inclusiveness; transparency; and accountability. That is only the way to earn the trust of the competitors and the public.”
Kofi Annan
Objectives
- Unite civil society ahead of the 2023 DRC elections;
- Create a common platform of demands in favour of credible elections;
- Help unite the opposition to create genuine competition at the polls.
At a Glance
Elections in the DRC
1
Civil society roundtable.
Roadmap for credible elections developed.
1
4
Days of opposition coalition talks held in Pretoria.
The Kofi Annan Foundation worked with the Catholics and Protestant Churches of the DRC, and a number of civil society organisations.
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Partners
Elections in the DRC
The In Transformation Initiative (ITI) was established in 2013 as a Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) by four veterans of the South African transition to democracy. ITI was set up to assist and support peace-making processes in countries in various stages of transition by drawing from the South African experience.
Over the years, the diverse contexts that ITI has and continues to support include: Central African Republic, Colombia, Cyprus, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Sudan, South Sudan, Yemen, Iraq, Spain (in the Basque region), Bahrain, Myanmar, India (on the Naga question), to name but a few.
LUCHA
LUCHA is a non-partisan & non-violent Congolese citizen movement which was launched on May 1, 2012 in Goma, DR Congo. Lucha campaigns for the advent of a new, united, free, peaceful and prosperous Congo whose honest and conscientious daughters and sons assume their civic power to achieve human dignity and social justice, for the nation and posterity
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Head of Democracy and Multilateralism Programmes
Declan O’Brien
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